Walgreens to appeal $31 million error award

Walgreen have hurt a lot of people and this is a fair way of saing Its time for them to get out of the pharamacy business and maybe do something thats less harming to the american people

kevin wrote:

Walgreen have hurt a lot of people and this is a fair way of saing Its time for them to get out of the pharamacy business and maybe do something thats less harming to the american people

Maybe you should rethink you comment because the person that killed this man was a narcotic-addicted pharmacist, not "Walgreens". He admitted to stealing over 80,000 pills in his career with Walgreens...mostly Oxycontin and Vicodin. He was high when he gave the man the wrong medication. And if you think that Walgreens is the only pharmacy that makes mistakes, what about the pharmacy that hired this guy after Walgreens fired him? Yes, he was hired by another store and is currently practicing on a probationary license.

Do some research on high stress jobs and addiction................

Yeah.....high stress jobs! You are just like many other spineless RPhs out there...bitch bitch bitch. Why don't you address you're needs with your pharmacy supervisor or DM instead of bitching about it to your patients and on a web log! As for high stress......hmmmm. Let me offer another take on you're job for you. You counsel patients, answer phones , make recc., make healthcare inquiries and decisions.......You create your own stress buddy. Learn how to multitask and use your time efficiently and all of your problems will go away. Try shovelling gravel for a living or opeing someone's brain up on an operating table, or representing someone who may get the death sentence, or being shot at every day in your normal course of a shift, or running into a flaming nightclub to save a bunch of useless drunks.......yeah you have a stressful job alright....get a spine.

I have experienced discrimination at Walgreens as a patient AND as an employee. The company policy has a written "no discrimination based on sexual orientation" and yet I've had Loss Prevention pay me a visit while working at another store. The RXM was not present during the incident, nor did she ask any of the 4 people present at the time about what really occurred. She simply emailed the pharmacy supervisor, who happens to be her friend, and stated that I was being offensive. All the other employees in the pharmacy know about the case, and two that were present during the incident persistently told her that no offense was perpetrated. Not only did the RXM fail to contact me or the other homosexual employee involved, but the pharmacy supervisor supported the complaint without contacting me either. Now all I've been left with is damage to my reputation with another Walgreens store, and even more anxiety from the social stigma. The saddest part is that I never once stated my orientation in her presence, and even if I had, it is a manager's duty to rectify any problem with that particular employee.
So to the other Walgreens employee: Do you have any words of defense for Walgreens regarding the treatment I've received as a fellow employee?

yes I work for Walgreens wrote:

<quoted text>
Maybe you should rethink you comment because the person that killed this man was a narcotic-addicted pharmacist, not "Walgreens". He admitted to stealing over 80,000 pills in his career with Walgreens...mostly Oxycontin and Vicodin. He was high when he gave the man the wrong medication. And if you think that Walgreens is the only pharmacy that makes mistakes, what about the pharmacy that hired this guy after Walgreens fired him? Yes, he was hired by another store and is currently practicing on a probationary license.

If all you say is somewhat true, there is something drastically wrong with every system----Walgreeens, the Gov't and the prescription drug hiring community. You all stink!

Pharmacist wrote:

Do some research on high stress jobs and addiction..........

High stress? For crying out loud, the man is a pill-pusher!

I was almost killed by a Walgreens pharmacist. For 3 months I was given one-tenth of the dose of medication I was meant to receive (mcg vs. mg) It was a new RX, so I didn't know the difference. Thyroid medication. I was almost in a coma and no Dr. could figure out why. The pharmicists states it wasn't his fault he couldn't read the RX. I asked why he failed to call the Dr's office or notify me, he said that was my problem, not his. Walgreens now has to find a way to pay me for the 3 months of my life, and my child's life, I missed.
Stockton, California

walgreens is vey unfair company, the stores are understaffed, and the staff are underpaid. I have had many incident where i was called back to the pharmacy because a pharmacist gave a customer a wrong prescription. In my district we have one of the highest turn- over rates. Pharmacists checks are being cut short.

sometimes pills fell on the dirty floor and the pharmacist would just take it and put in the bottles ready for the customer. at the end of the day walgreens do not care about they care about making their money

I had 56 pills stolen from our Walgreens. All 3 of my bottles had pills missing, totaling 56. This is not the 1st it has happened to me. They are all pain meds. The pharmasist when I called to complain, made me feel like I was lying, it couldn't have been there fault, and that maybe I took them. I was livid. I asked them to watch there cameras for foul play, to ask the tech., all kinds of things to check into this. He just said I have to talk to your doctor, and just kept saying that and continued to act like I was a freak. I filed a police report. They messed with the wrong chic this time. There cameras are a joke come to find out, they are only in from the registers. Unless someone admits to taking them there I can't get this taken care of. Any advice?

walgreens manager atl wrote:

sometimes pills fell on the dirty floor and the pharmacist would just take it and put in the bottles ready for the customer. at the end of the day walgreens do not care about they care about making their money

Is there an easy way for people to steal othe people's med's. The pharmacist out here is trying to tell me it is impossible. They double count them, they are weighted, and all kinds of other crapp. Yet camera's are only above the registers. If there's a will there's always a way! I had 3 bottles of pain med's tappered with, 56 missing in all and am trying to find the thief. I know it is happening there. I shouldn't have to count my meds after I pick them up. I should be able to trust them. No longer, no way. I filed a police report. But unless they confess, they can keep getting away with it? Looking for ideas to catch them!

Blue Tuesday wrote:

<quoted text>
High stress? For crying out loud, the man is a pill-pusher!

I'd like to know how they can steal other peoples medication so easy. And get away with it! Why are the cameras only in front of the register and not in the whole area? They know that pain medication is big business and people have addictions to meds. Yet why aren't they really trying to control the problem.

All of you complainers are a bunch of dumb ass's! I have worked for Walgreens, CVS, and Osco Drug, they are all the same. For one, working in a pharmacy may not be physically demanding, but having to listen to people like all of you BITCH about every little thing everyday, hassle with insurance companies to get drugs covered, and play phone tag with doctors gets annoying and yes, stressful. Now I'm not saying that foul play doesn't occur, but that is true for any occupation. I do not support theft, negligence, or discrimination. But at the same time patients need to exercise respect, understanding and become educated about the drugs that they are taking. If you notice a problem about your perscription ask the pharmacists immediately, don't wait until it's time for your next refill or it just makes YOU less credible. You can't expect complicated situations to be solved in a matter of minutes. You blame the pharmacies for mistakes on prescriptions, but at least 90% of all mistakes are caused by the doctor's offices. Either they do not write legibly or they are not even eduacated enough to perscribe the right medications for their patients. I couldn't even count the number of times that an MD will perscribe a patient a medication before even looking at their known allergy information. Another huge problem presented by doctors is that there is rarely direct communication available. All that a pharmacy can do most of the time is leave a voice message when there is a problem and then hope that they return your call. Then, if and when they finally do, they give you an attitude as if you are wasting their time by being concerned about their patients health. My final advise if you want a more pleasent pharmacy experience is this...GIVE YOURSELF AND THE PHARMACY SUFFICENT TIME!!! Don't wait untill you are out of drugs to request a refill, call at least 3 days ahead (this gives time to get the drug in stock, correct insurance issues, call for refills etc.) Tell them you will plan to pick up the medication at least 15 min. before you really intend to. This way it allows room for tardiness in the event that the pharmacy gets backed up.

Errors are going to occur, the board of pharmacy expects them to occur. They have a systems in place to help ensure all pharmacy's reduce and do there best to prevent them, but it will continue to happen. I have seen alot of Techs, Rph, & Pharm-Ds, transfer from competors. All have said Walgreens has 10x more checks and balances to prevent errors. I've worked for Walgreen for over 15 years. All Employees have the option for a open door policy that can be reviewed by employee relations in corporate, If you have gone that high and still don't have a job your not telling the whole story. Don't forget the paient also has a important role in understanding what medication they are taking. If you're unsure ask.

Errors are inevitable due to the millions o Rx's processed weekly. They are a fact of life. 1-2 errors in 10,000 Rx's does not mean incompetence. Unless the error is a obvious aggregous intentional error, a award of this magnitude will be reversed or reduced. The process will enivitably find the largest % of the 'award' will find itself in the hands of the law firm.

dick bininya wrote:

Yeah.....high stress jobs! You are just like many other spineless RPhs out there...bitch bitch bitch. Why don't you address you're needs with your pharmacy supervisor or DM instead of bitching about it to your patients and on a web log! As for high stress......hmmmm. Let me offer another take on you're job for you. You counsel patients, answer phones , make recc., make healthcare inquiries and decisions.......You create your own stress buddy. Learn how to multitask and use your time efficiently and all of your problems will go away. Try shovelling gravel for a living or opeing someone's brain up on an operating table, or representing someone who may get the death sentence, or being shot at every day in your normal course of a shift, or running into a flaming nightclub to save a bunch of useless drunks.......yeah you have a stressful job alright....get a spine.

your first nasme almost says it all the only thing missing is HEAD

Recentley we picked up a RX at Walgreens (which my husband takes for the rest of his life) for a BRain Tumor. He has been on this medication for several years and life dependant on it. With this medication he will die. This medication is needed everyday sometimes double doses to rebuilt him immune system. After 8 days of taking this medication and taking twice because he had a cold he was not feeling any better. In fact he was much worse. Unable to work, extremely fatigued, GI intestinal problems and a blood pressure and pulse of 104/52, 56 he contacted the pharmacy to see if the generic had changed. He was then told by the pharmacist that they made a "error" and gave him a high blood pressure-beta blocker medication called Corgard. He has never taken that medication before and immediatley stopped. They wanted him to return the wrong bottle so they would give him the correct one. Obviously this was not done and we filed a complaint. We have received a phone call from their Insurance company and they are conducting an investigation. It should not take long because they have admitted the error. Our problem is we do not know if in the future my husband will be faced with additional growth because this was missing in his system. According to a letter from his doctor this placed my husband in a life-threatening situation. I have talked with an attorney and they have suggested we retain them as council. We are unsure as to what we need to do. I have done nothing but research the errors that have been filed with Walgreens and can't belive what I am reading. Someone needs to be accoutable for these errors. People need to trust their pharmacist. This pharmacy has had our profiles with them for several years and know his history. NEver did they ask us when we picked this up if we had any questions regarding the new medication. When we spoke to the pharmacist and their manager they said the technician wrote it down correct, but the pharmacist could not read her writing and "assumed" it said Corgard instead of Cortef. Now when I read some of these complaints it seems like alot of this has been swept under the rug. All I know is that his doctor told us that if we would not have been proactive to call the pharmacy to question these symptoms-he most likey could of died. I look forward to any comments or suggestions anyone has as to what we should do. We unfortunatley can't determine what the future holds for him-we can only wait and see.

yes I work for Walgreens wrote:

<quoted text>
Maybe you should rethink you comment because the person that killed this man was a narcotic-addicted pharmacist, not "Walgreens". He admitted to stealing over 80,000 pills in his career with Walgreens...mostly Oxycontin and Vicodin. He was high when he gave the man the wrong medication. And if you think that Walgreens is the only pharmacy that makes mistakes, what about the pharmacy that hired this guy after Walgreens fired him? Yes, he was hired by another store and is currently practicing on a probationary license.

response by tk lawson pharm tech: He probably is appealling, and has that right. As for Walgreen's Co. itself, in my area, they are the most competant, helpful, exacting, and obliging pharmacies in Central California. The trust I place in them is of the highest esteem. They will help you though nearly any shortfall and they are professional and expeditous. I TRULY TRUST WALGREENS

KKN wrote:

Recentley we picked up a RX at Walgreens (which my husband takes for the rest of his life) for a BRain Tumor. He has been on this medication for several years and life dependant on it. With this medication he will die. This medication is needed everyday sometimes double doses to rebuilt him immune system. After 8 days of taking this medication and taking twice because he had a cold he was not feeling any better. In fact he was much worse. Unable to work, extremely fatigued, GI intestinal problems and a blood pressure and pulse of 104/52, 56 he contacted the pharmacy to see if the generic had changed. He was then told by the pharmacist that they made a "error" and gave him a high blood pressure-beta blocker medication called Corgard. He has never taken that medication before and immediatley stopped. They wanted him to return the wrong bottle so they would give him the correct one. Obviously this was not done and we filed a complaint. We have received a phone call from their Insurance company and they are conducting an investigation. It should not take long because they have admitted the error. Our problem is we do not know if in the future my husband will be faced with additional growth because this was missing in his system. According to a letter from his doctor this placed my husband in a life-threatening situation. I have talked with an attorney and they have suggested we retain them as council. We are unsure as to what we need to do. I have done nothing but research the errors that have been filed with Walgreens and can't belive what I am reading. Someone needs to be accoutable for these errors. People need to trust their pharmacist. This pharmacy has had our profiles with them for several years and know his history. NEver did they ask us when we picked this up if we had any questions regarding the new medication. When we spoke to the pharmacist and their manager they said the technician wrote it down correct, but the pharmacist could not read her writing and "assumed" it said Corgard instead of Cortef. Now when I read some of these complaints it seems like alot of this has been swept under the rug. All I know is that his doctor told us that if we would not have been proactive to call the pharmacy to question these symptoms-he most likey could of died. I look forward to any comments or suggestions anyone has as to what we should do. We unfortunatley can't determine what the future holds for him-we can only wait and see.

response fron tk lawson pharm tech: The FDA is mandating name changes for all similar sounding, as well as similar packaging. Add to that electronic Rx's, eliminating the illegable handwriting and the change in most states to robotics and near fail-safe systems. Yes, the sheer volume of Rx's make the inundated RPh less than infallable. Mandated Nat'l Certification, live scans, and US Dept of Justice checks- and LICENSED, REGISTERED Pharm Tech's (in CA) to go though continuing education as a requirement for re-licensure -many with college degrees.